Lukman, AbdulRazaq, others score Tinubu’s administration on economy, promises

• President surrounded by aides setting him up to fail, Lukman warns
• Dalung: Calls for sacrifice a mockery of suffering masses
• Reforms meant to refocus economy, Kwara, Kaduna govs insist
 
The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came under scrutiny, yesterday, with some observers, including immediate past National Vice Chairman (North West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, issuing divergent scorecards. 
    
Lukman specifically declared: “I think President Tinubu needs to audit his cabinet. He needs to audit those around him. I made this point somewhere that the President Tinubu that we have now is not the same as Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu who ruled Lagos State between 1999 and 2007 because the Asiwaju that ruled Lagos surrounded himself with very competent and clear-headed people. If he wanted to make the wrong decision, they could step forward and stop him. He doesn’t have such people around him now. The people around him now are those who basically say what he wants to hear, and that is not healthy for a leader. If anything, they are setting him up to fail.”
   
In an interview on Arise TV, Lukman said APC performed poorly on campaign promises. He also expressed optimism that the Tinubu administration would refrain from some of the ways of its predecessor.
   
“I admit that in terms of meeting up with our campaign promises, we have done badly. No doubt about it. And what are those campaign promises: issues of security, the economy, fighting corruption? We have done badly, and people are free to conclude whether or not APC is worse than PDP.
       
“As of 2023, before the election, I had the hope that because our leaders were not in denial of the challenges facing us, they would be humble enough to admit that we have not done what we needed to do between 2015 and 2023. That was why I was practically very confident that he would not really do business as usual, the way President Buhari did.
   
“Unfortunately, here we are. He’s doing business as usual. And as it is, we are going to end up in a worse situation. So, to that extent, you might be right in criticising some of us who were in APC and who supported President Asiwaju,” he said.
   
He noted that one of the most contentious decisions made by Tinubu was declaring the end of petroleum subsidy without planning. He said the abrupt decision led to a significant deterioration in the country’s living conditions.
   
Lukman, who recently resigned his membership of the party, said: “I don’t want Asiwaju to fail. I want him to succeed because it’s in our interest for him to succeed. As a nation, we’re hungry for a leader who in 200 years to come will be celebrated just like Americans are celebrating George Washington.”
   
He also warned: “From the way things are going, my prediction, which was why I had to act the way I did, is that by the end of this year, if we are not careful, the campaign for 2027 will start and people will be forced to just queue behind any leader. And out of anger and frustration, with the reality before us, people will end up electing a worse successor. All the challenges of the country will even get worse.”
   
Also, a former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, faulted Tinubu’s government for asking people to make sacrifices, describing it as a mockery of the suffering masses.
   
In a post on his X handle, Dalung argued that if Tinubu was genuinely committed to the nation’s prosperity, he should start by making sacrifices himself, beginning with his “jumbo-sized” government.
    
Dalung criticised the President’s “disconnect from social reality,” saying he was out of touch with the hardship faced by Nigerians.
   
He wrote: “I listened to #officialABAT calling on Nigerians again to sacrifice, love, and believe in the country. Could this be a mockery of the suffering of the masses, or he genuinely believe in what he was saying?
   
“If President Tinubu is sincere about what he’s saying, then it’s a confirmation that his government is under siege by a notorious cabal. The President’s body language betrayed him; he is in his world, distinct from the hardships confronting Nigerians.
   
“From my analysis of the speech, Nigeria is on autopilot dangerously navigating turbulence. Does President Tinubu know that Nigerians are suffering? Certainly not! His reckless economic policies, wasteful expenditures, plundering of resources, insensitivity to the plights of citizens, boastful and egoistic squandering of goodwill, and adoption of corruption and nepotism as state policies are the characteristics of this ignoble regime.
   
He said: “Sacrifice should begin with #officialABAT and his jumbo-sized government. Then, Nigerians can take him seriously. But for now, it is mere rhetoric and propaganda.”
   
However, AbdulRazaq said bright days lie ahead for Nigerians in the ongoing reforms embarked on by President Tinubu.
  
 He also said the reforms were meant to refocus the country’s economy and achieve long-term sustainable growth.
   
Speaking in Ilorin while hosting the Emir of Ilorin, Dr Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari at the yearly Bareke, AbdulRazaq pleaded for continued support for Tinubu’s administration.
    
Bareke, which is usually marked on the second day of Muslim festivals, is a colourful cultural event held at the Government House, Ilorin.
   
AbdulRazaq said: “The last year has been a period of determined reforms. These reforms are meant to refocus our economy and achieve long-term sustainable growth for our country. We acknowledge how the reforms have affected the purchasing powers of our people. We plead for patience, support, and understanding while different initiatives are designed to bring lasting ease to all. As Allah says, ease is certain to follow a period of difficulties. There is hope on the horizon.”
   
AbdulRazaq said his administration was executing various infrastructural projects, agricultural programmes, and economic initiatives to improve the standing of the state.
    
“A new national minimum wage is already in the works, along with the consequential adjustments for higher cadres. Kwara will not be left behind in this very important conversation,” he added.
   
Similarly, Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, urged Nigerians to have faith in the economic reforms being implemented by the government, assuring them that their sacrifices will not be in vain.
   
Appearing on AIT, yesterday, Sani encouraged citizens to trust the efforts of both the state and national governments to revitalise the economy.
    
Expressing his confidence in Tinubu’s leadership, Sani assured the nation, saying: “There will be light at the end of the tunnel.” He noted that the sacrifices made by Nigerians will ultimately lead to a better future for all.
   
“I want to use this opportunity to call on our people to have faith in our government, both at the state and national level. Here in Kaduna State, we’ve been working towards revitalising the economy of our people through massive investment in the area of agriculture, infrastructure, as well as social economic support, particularly those in the rural areas, small businesses and smallholder farmers.
  
“I’m also aware that a lot of people in this country are making a lot of sacrifices to support our government and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. “I want to assure our people that certainly, there’ll be light at the end of the tunnel.”
   
He added: “We know what Mr President is doing at the national level. We know the effort he’s making, and I do not doubt in my mind that everything will be better in this country, and the sacrifices people are making will not be in vain.”